What I like about me

As I write this post I can hear the rain pelt my windows and thunder in the distance. I love it! I love the sounds, I love the smell, I even went outside for a few minutes to enjoy the feel of raindrops on my skin.


I often hear people talk about what they would change about themselves whether it is their physical appearance or other characteristics. Some of us put a lot of time and effort into changing how we look or how we act. I am not saying there is anything wrong with trying to change for the better. But my weekend question for you is what is one characteristic you have (not physical) that you would not change about yourself. What is something you like about you?

Crayon Resist

This card is a CASE of one that my friend Taylor made a while back for one of her classes. See her version here--Taylor's crayon resist.

1. I started off by stamping the flowers (Fancy Pants) in Staz-On black ink on glossy paper.

2. I used a yellow crayon to highlight parts of each flower.

3. Then I used a sponge to ink the glossy cardstock with Regal Rose (I applied the ink and then gently smeared/smushed the color around with my sponge to give the glossy cardstock a smooth look.)

4. The last step was to use a tissue to wipe the yellow crayon off of the glossy cardstock. What is left is white where the crayon was.

I made 2 of the bigger flowers on another piece of glossy cardstock and cut them out and layered them on the strip of black cardstock with the sentiment on it.

quick share

Just a quick post this morning because I need to get to work in about 5 minutes...



I thought I would share a few more simple cards today. I got the idea for the one of the right hand side from a papercrafts magazine. I made the one on the left to match it. I think this paper would be really cute to make a whole set of matching cards with. I used up the whole sheet making cards and I was actually sad to see it go!

• Paper: My Mind's Eye, Close to Cocoa and Whisper White-Stampin' Up
• Ink: Close to Cocoa
• Stamp: It's Your Birthday
• other: Primas, brads (Bashful Blue, Stampin' Up)
  
  

On another note...only a few more days until I get to see this smiling face!

cleaning (still)

This week's Movie Monday will have to be on a different day. I switched computers and I need to change a few things. I am also trying to figure out an easier way to get YouTube movies on my blog. The way I do it now I can't edit my post later on or it deletes my video. (if anyone knows how to do it better, please let me know!)

On to my topic for today though...Today my friend Jami stepped up to the daunting challenge of cleaning out one of her closets that really needed a lot of work. Check out her blog to read about her day and make sure you read the quote she shared! While encouraging Jami that she could do it I was inspired to do some cleaning of my own. As I have shared before I don't have a lot of storage in my house. The place where I have the most is actually under my bed. My bed is a loft of sorts, about 4 feet off the ground. Under my bed I have my Christmas decorations, luggage, tools, a space heater, out of season clothes, a box of children's books, a sewing machine, a 3 drawer unit for extra office supplies, stamping stuff, and sewing stuff....and a few more items. I also have a box of junk with items that I just don't know where to put.
I decided to reorganize the space under my bed today. It wasn't necessarily messy, but it was VERY dusty under there. I took everything out and dusted each item, vacuumed underneath, combined a few boxes and put everything back. It looks so neat and organized now. And for those of you that read my blog regularly I know I promised pictures after my "clean sweep"...well I am not quite finished yet...soon though, very soon!

Weekend Question--all about hair

I got a really good haircut at the beginning of summer and realized how much fun and how cute it looked to straighten my hair. I bought a nice straightener and have really enjoyed finally having hair that I can do something with. My hair grows very fast so this week I decided I needed my hair trimmed because the back of my hair was having trouble staying straight and wanted to flip at the bottom of my neck. I told the stylist I wanted the same haircut as last time only a little shorter in the back (so that wouldn't grow out so fast). Well she took a little creative license and gave me a ton more layers (and shorter ones) than last time and gave me a very choppy cut. My hair that had body before...yeah well it is now CURLY!!!! It won't straighten with all the layers in my hair. Grrrrr! I am told it looks cute (although everyone is shocked with the natural curl I suddenly have), but I am not sure how I feel about it.

So my question is more of a "tell me a story" kind of thing. Do you have a bad haircut experience? I will tell you about my worst one on Monday.

Monday Update: Now when I tell you this picture it through the eyes of a young teenager (everything is a little more traumatic then ;) ). My mom and I tried out this new place to get our hair cut that was pretty inexpensive. I had just recently gone from long hair down to my butt to shorter hair, maybe shoulder length. So I had never had anything other than straight cuts pretty much--so no layers, no fancy stuff. Okay, so the lady cut my hair regular and then took out one of those scissors that thins your hair (at least I think that is what it is supposed to do. It cuts some of the hair, but not all of it) and without asking if I wanted that started using it. Only she didn't do it at the bottom of my hair she did it about an inch from my scalp. I don't know if this technique works on some people's hair, but what I ended up with was a grouping of hair at the top of my head that was about an inch long and liked to spike up out of the rest of my hair. So I had shoulder length hair and then some spikey hair that stuck straight up. I think I cried. Needless to say we never tried that place again ;)

My baby buddy and a few birthday cards

I have been watching a friend's 5 month old baby 2 days a week while she works. I am so tired at the end of those two days each week! I don't know how you moms do it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Today my buddy M. and I had a fun day. I learned how convenient a Baby Bjorn is. The Baby Bjorn is a baby carrier that carries the baby against your front and has straps around the back (think a backpack on backwards)--he absolutely loves being in the thing. We went to Target and just walked around. The boy was kicking (he was facing out) and squealing and just having a great time looking around at Target. He was content for about an hour there and would have been for longer, but it was naptime. While at Target I grabbed these really fun brads in the $1 spot. I hope to make a few cards to showcase them soon.

Here are two more simple birthday cards that I had made. The paper is still from the My Mind's Eye pack I got from Costco (I don't know that I will ever run out and I split the pack with a friend!).

stamps: It's Your Birthday, Tags and More

Busy

This week is a very busy week for me. Everything is starting back up and I don't have a free night all week! I have one card to share with just a quick description.

This was a fun card to make. The patterned and green paper are both from My Mind's Eye. I stamped Paisley (SU!) on the green paper with versamark and clear embossed it. I love the texture of it. The brown/rose red strips are from the Simply Scrappin' kit called Friends and Flowers.

Movie Monday--Brandon Heath--I'm Not Who I was

This song is called "I'm Not Who I was."
I saw an interview with Brandon Heath who was talking about how he wrote the song. He said he was looking at a box of old photos and a memory came back of a person who had hurt him in the past. So he wrote the song as if it were a letter to that person.

I think we all have people in our past who have wounded us deeply. (And if we think about it we probably can think of a time when we were the ones that caused someone else pain) Forgiveness isn't easy. And even when we forgive we sometimes still feel the sting of the hurt.
My favorite line is "The thing I find most amazing about amazing grace is the chance to give it out, maybe that's what love is all about."
Is there someone you need to extend grace to?

Random thoughts by Jen

I am in my mid 20s, but twice this past week I have been mistaken for a 17 year old. People say "Oh honey, some day you will appreciate that." You know what? I don't care if I will someday love looking younger than I am...having people think I am 10 years younger than I am (and a teenager at that) is NOT fun! When the door to door salesman comes to my door and asks if my parents are home...I am not amused.

So when will I start appreciating looking younger?!?!?!?!

Petey the Penguin and two love birds

Card #3 for my image hoarder challenge. This image is called "Sittin' Petey" by Inky Antics. I just love Inky's images--they are so cute and fun! I don't know if you can tell, but the ice has crystal effects on it to make it smooth and shiny like ice and Petey's stomach has stickles to make it glittery. The words are from "Amazing to Zany" by Stampin' Up!



Here is Card #4. I saw a layout like this on a blog and even e-mailed the author to see if it was their layout and now I can't find the e-mail or the blog...grrrr. So if it is yours please tell me so I can give you credit.
I made all the circles for this card using my circle coluzzle--it makes cutting circles so easy!

Labor Day

Those of you that live far away from family probably know what it is like to be homesick at odd times--times that are special for you and your family. I mean it is normal to miss family on big holidays: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, birthdays... Well, I always miss my family on Labor Day. You see my family gets together for a BBQ or a backyard picnic every year. My mom brings out her famous potato salad, 24 hour salad and other favorites and the family just hangs out. I miss that. I wondered this year what I was going to do on Labor Day to forget what I was missing (funny how the family doesn't stop hanging out without me there ;) ).
I had friends that invited me to hang out on their boat with them for the day. If I was a boat person I could tell you what kind of boat they have, but I am so not interested in that kind of stuff. All I can tell you is that it was so much fun! We hung out on the boat, swam in the water near the boat and kayaked. Then when it was time for dinner we took the boat up the coast to Long Beach for dinner. I walked up to the front of the boat and stood with the wind in my hair while we were going. What a free feeling! I had the "perfect" California day.

Can I just say how thankful I am for my friends out here? I am thankful for the families that have taken me in and embraced me as their own. It is kind of like I have a California extended family. It means the world to me to have people who care about me like that. Please don't underestimate the magnitude of acts of kindness like that.